Overview
- Industry trackers project a $25–30 million four-day debut in North America after early grosses reached about $19.4 million, putting the film in contention to top A24’s opening-weekend record set by Civil War at $25.5 million.
- Early reception is strong with an IMDb user rating around 8.3/10 and high Rotten Tomatoes scores, and several outlets cite growing awards momentum for Timothée Chalamet.
- Chalamet trained for years and performed his matches on camera, with coach Diego Schaaf noting he “performed unbelievably well” and adapted his technique to match 1950s table tennis with input from Olympian Wei Wang.
- Josh Safdie pushed period authenticity by pairing strong prescription contacts with opposing-lens glasses to alter Chalamet’s perception, while prosthetics artist Michael Fontaine added era-appropriate facial details.
- The film blends fact and invention, loosely drawing from table-tennis great Marty Reisman, and features real champion Koto Kawaguchi in tournament scenes to deepen the sport’s credibility.